Taming Hearts

Chapter Six: Naughty

The Haddock family was a bit restless that night, Adrianna because she had the first nightmare she'd had in months and Finn for a similar reason, though he didn't admit this to his parents the next day. He hated waking up, terrified of either being crushed in a cave-in or beaten mercilessly by one of the cruelest men he'd ever met. But he continued to choke down his fear, hoping that he would have an opportunity to talk to Benen that day.

"Well this is unusual." Hiccup commented at breakfast. "We're all awake at a normal hour. Now we have time to kill before training. I was thinking of going to check out the competition, so to speak."

"Aren't the oldest groups training right now?" Astrid asked. "Might be interesting to watch."

"I'll come." Adrianna said, not eager to be separated from her parents just yet.

Finn's eyes were locked on his berry porridge, his spoon suspended in midair. "I've got somewhere to go."

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged looks but decided not to press their son for information. It wasn't as if he was going to provide any in the first place. Once breakfast was over, Hiccup, Astrid, Adrianna, and their dragons all headed up to the arena to watch the 15 through 17 year old trainees. They were surprised to find Snotlout, Svala, and the Thorston twins already there, watching the teenage boys and girls file in and consult with the trainer, who happened to be Fishlegs. Hiccup had told Allie that he didn't have much by way of actual talent in the games but his theories were what had won many a game for some of the Hooligans. The Haddocks climbed into the stands to watch as several of the teenagers began to train, some with bows and arrows, others flew out of the arena with their dragons, while still others began to spar with one another.

"Well pretty soon it's going to be obvious who the winners will be." Snotlout said, resting his feet on the seat in front of him and leaning back against the seat behind him. "And I don't just mean Inga."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. Snotlout always tried to predict Thawfest's winners and he was often correct. Inga had won every year since she was old enough to start participating, much to Snotlout's delight.

"I wouldn't go counting your chickens before they hatch." Hiccup said, his eyes following a Hooligan girl with wavy, dark brown hair as she came seemingly out of nowhere to attack her opponent. "Though that girl over there has some potential."

"Rosabella? Please! She's like five pounds. The only reason she won last year is because it was just her and other Hooligans." Snotlout rolled his eyes. "It's going to be Cori." he said, pointing to a much larger Outcast girl who was mercilessly pummeling a target with knives. "She's a winner. I can tell."

Hiccup frowned, looking between both girls. "I still think Rosabella's going to win. She's clever and stealthy."

"And has no upper body strength to back that up. I'll bet you anything it'll be Cori." Snotlout smiled smugly.

"I'm not making bets on this!" Hiccup sighed exasperatedly. "There's no point anyway since we both have kids and should probably be responsible with the money we make."

"I've got it!" Tuffnut piped up. "The ultimate wager! Slap bet!"

"Ooh, slap bet! We used to do those when we were kids!" Astrid said, now looking almost delighted.

Adrianna raised an eyebrow. "What's a slap bet?"

"Whoever's right gets to slap the other person in the face as hard as they possibly can." Ruffnut explained, smacking her brother on the shoulder.

"But no rings." Tuffnut added.

Adrianna looked at all of the adults in turn before letting out a giggle. "Are you seriously thinking about doing that? I mean... that's kind of immature..."